The Lemon Drop

The Lemon Drop is a boozy, sweet-tart cocktail that follows a simple sour template, combining vodka, triple sec orange liqueur, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and simple syrup. 

Long before it was relegated to a sticky-sweet shooter, this vodka Sidecar variation came together in the early 1970s at San Francisco bar Henry Africa’s, where its creation is often credited to Norman Jay Hobday, who legally adopted the moniker Henry Africa after his beloved bar. 

A Korean War veteran who landed in San Francisco after he was deployed and found his calling as a bar owner and personality, Hobday had a distinctive flair (fully adopting his Henry Africa persona with safari outfits and military attire) and a vision for a singles bar that soon became a national trend. 

Henry Africa’s is considered to be the first and original “fern bar” in America, decorated with lush plants, antiques, and Tiffany-style lamps, with drinks that were typically sweet and targeted toward a female clientele. The business rationale at the time was that whatever bar women chose to frequent, men would soon follow. 

Supposedly inspired by the sugar-coated lemon hard candies, the Lemon Drop is the most famous drink to come out of the San Francisco bar and the closest to a classic cocktail build, landing firmly in the sour family of drinks. 

What makes the Lemon Drop work

Though it's hard to pin down the exact specs of the original Lemon Drop recipe served at Henry Africa’s, sources tend to agree that the ingredients were vodka, triple sec, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup. 

This recipe follows the 2:1:1 rule — two parts base spirit, one part sweet, and one part sour. Vodka is the backbone of this drink but the balance of the other ingredients is key.

The generous one-ounce portion of lemon juice results in an appropriate amount of tangy citrus flavor, common to all sour cocktails. Triple sec and simple syrup share the sweet component in this recipe, guaranteeing a balance of the acidic citrus and an additional depth of flavor from the liqueur. 

A sugared rim is a signature Lemon Drop garnish, reminiscent of the candies it is inspired from, echoing another classic sour, the Sidecar.